'Rest of story' degrades value

Saturday

May 2, 2009 at 12:01 AM

"This is the rest of the story" of the photograph ... of a girl in the flowers by James Ross Bryson.

By John SikorskiColumnist

Q: As the late Paul Harvey used to say, "this is the rest of the story" of the photograph I sent you of the girl in the flowers by Bryson. The complete name is James Ross Bryson. Most of his works were from 1908-1914. The medium is charcoal. He sold them to the Thomas D. Murphy Calendar Company, Red Oak, Iowa, for $200 each. This was a good sum in 1914. The calendar company, in addition to making calendars, produced postcards, posters, etc. Hope this helps. Thanks for your help.A: Relative to dollar value, there is a big leap downward from oil on canvas paintings to charcoal pictures. I remember the delightful picture of a pretty young woman with her dog in a field of flowers. The price paid for the picture, as I recall, was $300 and I thought it would sell for more. Now that I know the rest of the story, I doubt it would.Q: I have enclosed a copy of a JFK coin set that has never been out of the box. There is a bust of the former president done by Donjo. There are rubies and emeralds around the coins. It is a limited edition of only 2,000 per state. It originally sold for $695. Do you think it could be sold and, if so, who could I contact? I would appreciate any help you can give me.A: Yes, your John F. Kennedy commemorative coin set could be sold. A limited edition of 100,000 is not very limited. These sets can be found in the secondary market for 10 cents on the dollar based on your cost. I suggest you pass it on in the family.Q: Enclosed is a photograph of a desk I purchased at an estate sale around 1980. Do you have any knowledge regarding this?A: The one photograph you sent of your writing desk is not very helpful. I think the desk was made in America during the mid-20th century. It would likely sell in the $100 to $200 range.Q: I have a 12-piece setting of fine china purchased in Germany back in the 1960s that I would like to sell, but I have no idea what it is worth, if anything. The back of the dishes have the following: "Bavaria Schumann, Arzberg Germany." If you can help me or if you need pictures, I can send them to you. Please help me if you can.A: There is no specific collector interest in your set of china. The dollar value is relative to interest in the pattern. There are china pattern matching companies that sell piece by piece to folks who break a cup or plate and want to replace it. Replacements Ltd. might be interested in purchasing the pieces you have. Contact them at 800-REPLACE.